Coril
The Coril are a peaceful species of aliens similar in appearance and general biology to Earth's insects. They are known for having fairly advanced technology, especially in the areas of cybernetics and neurological interfaces such as AI or uploads. The governing body over the Coril is the Kzirivai Amalgamation. The Coril are oftentimes known as the "Corai" due to an error dating back to the initial translations between them and the Koboln. Coril ignore this for the most part, simply factoring it into their translators. History The Coril are a species with a fairly long but uneventful history. They evolved from a hive-based species similar to bees; at some point reliance on a queen was phased out of their biology and they became a more independent species. Being physically imposing, they had few predators but were themselves mostly peaceful, allowing them to form a society on their own time and mostly unmolested. Most of their technological development was spurred by conflicts between the seventeen major races and regional variants of the species; these conflicts were typically long and slow to progress. Besides war, natural disasters have played a hand but both take a back seat to their inherent curious nature and drive to learn and explore. In recent history, the Coril put their minds towards exploring and even colonizing space, discovering and developing a plethora of new technologies as a result. Habitat and population The Coril are descended from hive-based creatures and as such are quite used to cramped, highly populated living conditions. While the high population of the Coril is often disruptive to the environment, they have completely rebuilt their worlds' biospheres with their advanced genetic engineering technology and thus live in relative harmony with the environment around them. Population centres Coril live in titanic, densely populated hive-cities for the most part. These hives are commonly made up of a central arcology and surrounding rings of consecutively less dense urban development. The arcologies themselves resemble titanic towers or pyramids, often a reaching up to three kilometres into the air, and are densly packed with a large variety of living spaces. In the oldest population centres multiple arcologies will overlap and build off of each other, becoming a single massive mega-hive. Such mega-hives often become major spaceports and trade-hubs. Surrounding the archologies are great expanses of urban sprawl. Much like the Kowloon Walled City, this sprawl consists of densly packed buildings built atop each other, creating a warren of streets and alleyways far beyond the reach of the sun. Depending on the location of the hive, they may be integrated into the local ecosystem. Arcologies become covered in rock and earth and take the place of mountains, vast forests growing atop the surrounding urban sprawl. Some reach underwater, the tallest reaches of the city poking out above the waves like islands. Some population centres exist in orbit, titanic space habitats a hundred times larger than any arcology. Virtually all places regularly frequented by the Coril will have some degree of interface with the Aetherium. Lifestyle Coril are individual beings but mostly accept a highly communal lifestyle without an excess of luxuries. Coril live in small individual dwellings after maturing and are expected to find a job that suits their education and natural talents. Due to the level of technology present in their civilization, most Coril lead a fairly easy life and are content with their accomplishments. Those who wish to travel can gain the ability easily, locally or across interplanetary distances. Their medical technology means that death from illness is uncommon, and most Coril live long and healthy lives. Those who have the money can even prolong their lives past death, uploading themselves into the Aetherium or transferring themselves into a new shell. Biology Anatomy Coril have a general anatomical structure which resembles that of an insect, or perhaps an arachnid. General features include a hard exoskeleton, six legs, an enlarged abdomen, wings, and antennae. Past this general resemblance, however, they have several features which do not quite fit with the insect comparison. Coril stand roughly three meters tall with their legs relaxed, and are orange with deep purple patterns and a softer, cream-coloured flesh. A Coril's body is made up of four segments; the head, minor and major thorax, and abdomen. Despite their outer exoskeleton, they also have an internal endoskeleton for support. Their head is shaped similarly to a shovel head, with a set of three mandibles on the underside, two large green eyes, two pairs of antennae and a tall frill which fans from the back of their head. They are capable of replicating most sounds, much like a parrot. Their minor thorax is a broad segment from which sprouts two sets of large, transparent wings (with which Coril are capable of flying distances up to one hundred meters with) and two pairs of thin, razor-lined arms ending in four long, thin digits. It is the location of one of their five hearts and their secondary lungs. The major thorax is attached to the narrow point of the minor thorax, and connects their six long, flexible, and claw-tipped legs. It is the location of one of their five hearts and the first part of their digestive tract. It is roughly saddle-shaped. The abdomen houses most of a Coril's organs, including three of their five hearts, most of their digestive tract, their primary lungs, their reproductive organs, and many others. Gender Male and female Coril are virtually identical save for females being slightly bulkier and posessing a two foot long retractable stinger connected to a basketball-sized venom sac containing a potent hemotoxin. Victims injected with a concentrated dose will practically liquefy and explode. Life cycle Coril have a complex life cycle involving three stages. An egg will hatch into a nymph, which is similar to an adult Coril only with a fused minor and major thorax and lacking wings, antennae, or a frill. After about one to five years in this aggressive stage the nymph will spin a cocoon out of whatever material is nearby that can be chewed and regurgitated. After another year in this cocoon, it will emerge as a fully-fledged adult and live for another twenty to thirty years without medical assistance. Modern Coril can live up to a hundred years thanks to their advanced medical sciences. A female Coril lays anywhere from twenty to eighty eggs after a short, four-month gestation period. Enhancements Thanks to complex nanotechnology, bioengineering, and cybernetics technology, modern Coril are really quite different from their ancestors. They are fully integrated into the civilizations information network, known as the Aetherium, from hatching. They are nearly immune to disease so long as their blood-borne nanites continue to function. Their organs are tougher and they are hardened against temperature extremes and radiation for upwards of ten minutes. Direct interface jacks are a common addition, letting them fully mesh with an information or control interface. Fully functional replacement limbs, either biological or cybernetic, are also an option. While they are quite durable, their sensory enhancements rely on the Aetherium to function properly and they often feel disoriented if they lack contact with it. Uploads and shells The most extreme form of enhancement in cybernetics and bioengineering respectively, uploads and shells are much rarer than baseline Coril but still make up a good percentage of the population. Uploads are those who forgo a physical existence entirely in favour of scanning their neural network into a computer system. Shells are bioengineered bodies into which a consciousness can be transferred, often with radically different biology than a Coril. Many uploads and shells are found in the same place; both practices are favourable in space environments such as starships or habitats. Psychology Coril are a fairly odd species psychologically, with a radically different viewpoint than humans. They are fairly intelligent and highly inquisitive, but lack the same level of aggression humans have. Motivation and emotion Coril are an omnivorous species which had begun farming before it reached sentience, and have a generally peaceful attitude. While they are quite dangerous if defending themselves, Coril will only rarely initiate hostilities themselves. They are extremely inquisitive about the world around them and are very good at "putting themselves in the other parties' shoes" as it were, using their skills at imagining other viewpoints to their advantage in hunting early on and later putting them to good use creating a peaceful and unified civilization. Culture Spirituality and religion Art, music, and literature Society, government, and politics Trade and economics Category:Species Category:Coril Category:Races